'Mass Effect 4: Andromeda' release date: game to launch this year after all?

A screenshot from BioWare's trailer for "Mass Effect: Andromeda." Mass Effect/YouTube

Fans were disappointed to learn that there are speculations that Electronic Arts decided to push back the holiday 2016 targeted release date for the fourth installment of the "Mass Effect" franchise. However, new rumors suggest that "Mass Effect: Andromeda" might make it this year after all.

According to Express UK, in a recent investors' meeting, Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen dropped some clues on some of the publisher's plans for 2016 and beyond. Reportedly, Jorgensen did not directly confirm that "Mass Effect: Andromeda" will be pushed back for a 2017 release. However, the CFO did say that fans can expect the fourth "Mass Effect" installment during the period between October 2016 and March 2017.

Although the release period might be a vague one given that it is long, Jorgensen specified that this time frame will be the most logical choice for their major title release.

In addition, Jorgensen also shot down rumors that some major titles will be released in the early parts of the year, particularly speculations of a middle 2016 roll-out for "Mass Effect: Andromeda."

According to the EA CFO, their previous RPG and other genre releases were, for the most part, scheduled for late in the year since "We're not yet announcing when 'Titanfall' or 'Mass Effect:Andromeda' will come, but you should assume that's in the back half of the year as well because the second quarter [July to September] is so dominated by our sports titles."

"Mass Effect: Andromeda" continues to generate interest, particularly among hardcore fans of the series, since this will be another "new" game. While it is technically the fourth installment in the franchise, developer BioWare said that it will introduce a new story, meaning the plot and storyline for the past three "Mass Effect" titles will not be present, although some characters from the previous games might appear.

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